Why do I have involuntary and persistent erections (about 2 hours) when I am not sexually aroused? Is this normal and when should I consult?

Question

Hello, it’s been a while and I have noticed that I have involuntary erections that last about 1-2 hours on a random basis (it happened to me once while I was mowing the lawn!). Sometimes it’s even painful. Is there anything that I can do to stop it when it happens? What medications are available for this condition?

Thi Lan Thi Duong · Accepted Answer

Hello, An involuntary and persistent erection in the absence of sexual stimulation can be characterized by what we call “priapism”. Priapism is a prolonged, painful and abnormal erection, and can be caused by several factors. Ischemic priapism is the most common form of priapism, which can result in erectile dysfunction or death of penile tissue if the erection is very prolonged. A common cause of priapism includes certain drugs used for erectile dysfunction (e.g. viagra, cialis, alprostadil injection), antidepressants, alcohol or tobacco use. More rarely, in some cases, priapism can be caused by sickle cell anemia or prostate cancer . I recommend you to consult your doctor as soon as possible for further investigation. You must consult the emergency room if the erection lasts more than 4 hours, if there is intense pain, damage to the penis, fever or sweats during the night. Some measures you can take are applying ice on the penis and climbing stairs when you observe an involuntary erection. The doctor may prescribe analgesics to relieve the pain when it is very intense. For ischemic priapism, the doctor may inject adrenaline to reduce blood flow to the penis to decrease swelling. Surgical intervention may be necessary in some cases. My pleasure,  Lan Thi Duong, pharmacy student (supervised by Alexandre Chagnon, pharmacist)